Improvement in plaiting-machines



J. HOCHHEIMER@ Pla,it'ng-lVIalgohineE No. 202,346. Patented Apri!16,1878.

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' 'Htfowei UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN HOCHI-IEIMER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT `IN PLAlTlNG-MACHINES..

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 202,346, dated April16, 1878; application filed March 26,1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN HOCHHEIMER, of Baltimore city, State ofMaryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPlaitingMachines; and I hereby declare the same to be fully, clearly,and exactly described as follows, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a perspective view of theplaiter 5 Fig. 2, a similar view of the knife Fig. 3, a sectional viewof a part of the plaiter; Fig. 4, a cross-sectional view of one of theneedles, and Fig. 5, a plan view of the gage.

This invention relates, in general, to machines for forming plaits intextile fabrics, and, in particular, to that class of such machines asoperate upon the principle of forcing the material, by means of a folderor knife, between a series of parallel slats or needles.

In such machines it has hitherto been customary to adjust the depth ofthe plaits (if at all) by means of a movable shoulder upon the knife;but this construction necessitated the exertion of such a degree ofpressure in bringing the shoulder upon the knife into close contact withthe fabric over the needle as resulted in causing the latter to bend,the plait being partially drawn out as the needle straightened upon thewithdrawal of the knife. An obstacle was also met in the needlesthemselves. If cut from sheet material, the edges are liable to beeither sharp or rough, or both, and, if round, they must necessarily beso thin as notto possess therequisite stiffness. Round needles arefurthermore objectionable on ac count of their forming a bead on theedge of the plait as the latter is pressed. v

My invention has for its object to obviate these defects in plaiters asheretofore constructed, and, at the same time, secure other andimport-ant advantages, as will be apparent.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the plaiter proper, whichconsists of a rectangular frame, preferably of tin, having side pieces bb, turned over, as shown, at right angles to the frame. I/Vithin theframe are soldered or otherwise suitably secured the needles a a. Theseconsist of metallic rods, preferably steel, having a shape in cross-section as shown in Fig. 4 viz.,` that of a flattened oval. They areconveniently formed by rolling or flattening a mild steel wire, andsubsequently cutting to the proper length and tempering. These needlesanswer every requisite. They are three times as stiff as a cylindricalneedle of the same material and thickness, having a correspondinglygreater cross sectional area. Their breadth prevents the formation of abead ou the edge of the plait, and they possess all the advantages ofcylindrical needles in respect to smoothness.

The base B is a suitable board, having a pair of grooves, c 0,. adaptedto receive the side pieces b b of the plaiter. These grooves are cutabout half through the board B, into the under side of which, andentering the grooves, are screwed the thumb-screws D.

It will be evident that as the side pieces b b rest upon the screws Dwithin the grooves, the height of the needles a above the board B may bereadily adjusted by turning the screws D. Fig. 3 illustrates this indetail.

The knife O is a simple strip of tin or other sheet metal, having afolded edge for the sake of smoothness.

A gage, E, provided with a scale, serves to indicate the height of theneedles above the board.

In operation the plaiter is adjusted above the board to a heightcorresponding to the depth of the plaits to be formed. The fab ric isthen laid upon the frame, and is thrust between the bars seriatim bymeans of thel knife G, which is caused to bring up against the board aseach plait is formed.

It is obvious that the plaits are thus made of uniform depth, and theneedles are subjected to no strain other than thatcauscd by the fabricsliding over them, and this is reduced to a minimum by the smoothness oftheir surfaces.

Finally, when the plaiter is full or the fabric exhausted, the frame Ais inverted, and the plaits are set by ironing over a damp cloth.

It is evident that, as an alternative for the adjusting-screws D, one ormore thin bars or needles may be laid .in the grooves, or otherexpedient adopted for raising the frame A to any desired height abovethe board B.

Having thus described my invention, what 4. A plaiter-needle having incross-section the form of an oblate oval, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the base B, the vertically-adjustable plaiter Aand gage E, substantially as described.

J. HOGHHEIMER.

Witnesses R. D. WILLIAMS, DAVID G. WINNs.

